News Archives: Faculty and Staff News

BROWNWOOD – June 30, 2015 – Howard Payne University announced today the promotion of Bill Fishback from assistant vice president for business and human resources to associate vice president for business and human resources. Fishback was also named interim chief financial officer and will join HPU’s executive team as a member of the university’s Administrative Council.

Fishback came to HPU in 1992 as chief financial officer and has overseen areas in advancement and administration. He is a part of HPU’s Staff Council which began under his leadership as chair in 2010. The council plays a vital role in advancing the exchange of information between the university’s staff members. He also recently managed the renovations of HPU’s Mabee University Center, a project which came in under budget and on time.

“We are proud of Bill’s numerous accomplishments at HPU,” said Dr. Bill Ellis, president. “He has served the university faithfully and we are pleased that he has accepted this new role on campus.”

Fishback graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management from Texas Tech University. He and his wife, Cecil, a speech/language pathologist at Comanche Special Services SSA, have two adult sons, Chase and Chris.

###

Photo cutline: HPU’s Bill Fishback was recently promoted to associate vice president for business and human resources.

BROWNWOOD – May 4, 2015 – Members of Howard Payne University’s faculty and staff were recently honored at an annual personnel recognition luncheon held on the HPU campus. Bobbie Price, certification coordinator and graduation assistant, was named the Outstanding Staff Member while Dr. Bill Fowler, associate professor of Christian studies, was presented the Outstanding Faculty Member award.

The outstanding faculty and staff member awards are made possible by Porter Insurance Agency and Underwood’s Cafeteria, respectively.

Certificates recognizing excellence in teaching were presented to Dr. Danny Brunette-Lopez, associate professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of Modern Languages, and Kathy Hagood, associate professor of English.

Special plaques commemorating retirement were given to Dr. Mitzi Lehrer, associate professor of education; Dr. Lois Patton, professor of business administration and director of the MBA graduate program; Dr. Les Plagens, dean of the School of Business and professor of business administration; Dr. Allen Reed, professor of music; and Bobbie Jo Stewart, circulation services and music library supervisor.

Also receiving awards were:

Five years of service – Dr. Jennifer Clement, assistant professor of psychology; Laura Coulter, assistant professor and academic services coordinator, tutoring and QEP; Deanna Erxleben, instructor of music; Jill Holamon, administrative assistant for the School of Music and Fine Arts; Lauren Kirk, instructor of education; Gene Kirkpatrick, head athletic trainer; Dr. Joe Robinson, professor of education and director of the instructional leadership graduate program; and Dr. Kenneth Word, professor of mathematics and chair of the Department of Mathematics.

Ten years of service – Corey Ash, associate professor of music and director of bands; Karalee Byrnes, loan coordinator; Dr. Brett Coulter, associate professor of math and director of engineering science; Deborah Dill, administrative assistant for the School of Science and Mathematics; Roger Geise, head football coach; Jodi Goode, assistant vice president for information technology services; Rebecca Mainka, mail room and copy center clerk; Dr. Keith Mask, professor of psychology and chair of the Department of Psychology and Family Studies; Joyce Myers, grants/scholarships coordinator; and Dr. Rusty Wheelington, associate professor of Christian studies.

Twenty years of service – Wendy Grooms, associate professor of math; John Nickols, assistant professor of government and history; and Bertha Valle, office manager for HPU’s El Paso Center.

Twenty-five years of service – Brenda Brittain, executive assistant to the provost; Dr. Gerry Clarkson, associate professor of physical science and chair of the Department of Physical Sciences; and Dr. Gary Gramling, professor of Christian studies and director of the graduate program in youth ministry.

Thirty years of service – Mary Dunham, assistant professor of library science and technical services librarian.

Thirty-five years of service – Dr. Robert Mangrum, university historian and professor of government and history.

###

Photo cutlines:

Bobbie Price, center, received the Outstanding Staff Member Award for the 2014-2015 academic year at HPU. She is pictured with Dr. Bill Ellis, HPU president, left, and Robert Porter, right. The award is made possible by Porter Insurance Agency.

Dr. Bill Fowler, center, was presented the Outstanding Faculty Member Award for the 2014-2015 academic year at HPU. He is pictured with Dr. Bill Ellis, left, and Jill Underwood, right. The award is made possible by Underwood’s Cafeteria.

BROWNWOOD – Aug. 7, 2014 – “The Last Three Outs,” a novel by John Nickols, assistant professor of history and political science at Howard Payne University, was recently recommended by FCA Magazine, a national publication of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The novel was the only work of fiction recommended by the magazine in its July/August issue.

“The Last Three Outs,” a baseball novel with Christian themes, tells the story of Danny Hill, a bright pitching prospect whose baseball career is suddenly threatened by a shoulder injury. According to Nickols, the book loosely parallels the life of Joseph in the Old Testament.

“Joseph’s story has always intrigued me,” Nickols said. “There were many injustices in his life, but God redeemed him in a much greater way. In a very trivial way, the same thing happens to Danny in my story.”

The book was published by Tate Publishing and is available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

###

Photo cutline: “The Last Three Outs” by John Nickols, assistant professor of history and political science at HPU, was recently recommended by FCA Magazine.

ROWNWOOD – May 22, 2013 – Karina Daniel, director of corporate, community and foundation relations at Howard Payne University, was named the May 2013 Ambassador of the Month by the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Ambassadors participate in various Chamber and community events and serve as the core volunteer group for the Chamber. The Ambassador of the Month is chosen based on participation in events and programs during the previous month.

Daniel first became involved with the Chamber in 2011 when she participated in Leadership Brownwood through then-employer Blaylock Funeral Home. In the fall of 2011, she volunteered for the Total Resource Campaign (TRC), the Chamber’s eight-week sponsorship and membership drive, and was appointed to the TRC Advisory Committee. She has continued to remain active with the TRC, this year helping to raise more than $118,000 in sponsorships for Chamber events as well as new Chamber memberships.

Daniel became a Chamber Ambassador in spring 2012 and has helped with Chamber activities such as ribbon cuttings, monthly lunches, Business After Hours events, the annual Chamber Banquet, business showcases and more.

Since joining the HPU staff in September 2012, Daniel has remained active with the Chamber.

“I have been very fortunate to have the support of the university,” she said. “Randy Yeakley (vice president for development) encourages me to be active in my Ambassador role for the Chamber, as my involvement benefits HPU and helps build and strengthen community relationships.”

###

Photo cutline: Karina Daniel, director of corporate, community and foundation relations at HPU, was named the May 2013 Ambassador of the Month by the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.

BROWNWOOD – May 2, 2013 – Members of Howard Payne University’s faculty and staff were recently honored at an annual personnel recognition luncheon held on the HPU campus. Dr. Harlan Scott, chair of the biology department and associate professor of biology, was named Outstanding Faculty Member and Jodi Goode, director of information technology, received the Outstanding Staff Member Award.

The outstanding faculty and staff member awards are made possible by the Underwood family of Underwood’s Bar-B-Q and the Porter family of Porter Insurance, respectively.

Certificates recognizing excellence in service were presented to Katrina Lynn, administrative assistant for business and human resources; Rebecca Mainka, mail room and copy center clerk; and Larry Henderson, custodian.
Special plaques commemorating retirement were given to Tonya Horner, associate professor of mathematics, and Louise Sharp, associate vice president for marketing and communications, chief marketing officer and special assistant to the president.

Ten years of service – Martha Fothergill, coordinator of records and reports; Carla Hawkins, assistant professor of modern languages; Kim Schuster, executive assistant to the senior vice president for finance and administration; Bobbie Jo Stewart, circulation services and music library supervisor; and Dr. Daresa Voss, professor of education.

Twenty years of service – Dr. Donnie Auvenshine, professor of Christian studies and dean of the School of Christian Studies; and Eydie Henderson, administrative assistant for the School of Christian Studies.

Twenty-five years of service – Dr. Art Allen, professor of Christian studies.

###

Photo cutlines: Jodi Goode received the Outstanding Staff Member Award for the 2012-2013 academic year at HPU. She is pictured with Robert Porter. The award is made possible by the Porter family of Porter Insurance.

Dr. Harlan Scott, right, received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award for the 2012-2013 academic year. He is pictured with Jill Underwood and Paul Underwood. The award is made possible by the Underwood family of Underwood’s Bar-B-Q.

BROWNWOOD – April 24, 2013 – The works of Dr. Elisabeth Greene, adjunct faculty member in Howard Payne University’s School of Music and Fine Arts, were recently performed in the Washington, D.C., area.

Dr. Greene collaborated with D.C.-area professionals to perform scenes from her opera, “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” at the D.C. Public Library in conjunction with the feature of the book by Azar Nafisi in the D.C. Reads program. Dr. Greene also gave a public presentation about the work to her audience.

Dr. Greene’s new bilingual opera “Ce que raconte le conte/How the Story Goes” premiered in March at the Lycée Rochambeau, a French international school in the D.C. area. The work retells familiar fairy tales in French and English, ending with a surprise modern twist. The work was commissioned by the French school for their presentation of Opéra Comique. The bilingual nature of the text, written by the composer, mirrors the students’ linguistic experience at a French school in the United States.

Greene teaches composition, music history and arranging at HPU. She is currently developing a variety of works for both voice and stage.

BROWNWOOD – April 9, 2013 – Working with a collaborative research group, Dr. W. Mark Tew, Howard Payne University provost, recently coedited and contributed to a volume of “New Directions in Teaching and Learning,” a periodic monograph published by Jossey-Bass, a noted higher education publisher.

Titled “The Breadth of Current Faculty Development: Practitioners’ Perspectives,” the coeditors brought together authors, university presidents and noted faculty from Harvard University; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Michigan State University; and University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our contributors,” said Dr. Tew. “Educators care greatly about improving their teaching ability and this desire was reflected in each chapter.”

More than four years in the making, Dr. Tew indicated the project started when he and three other researchers, Mrs. Mitzy Johnson of Mississippi State University, Dr. William Ritchie of Keiser University in Florida and Dr. C. William McKee of Cumberland University in Tennessee, surveyed the 800 colleges and universities of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) regarding current practices in faculty development.

“After making a presentation on our findings at an annual SACSCOC meeting, we revised our study and re-surveyed institutions in the southern region,” he said. “It was during the second phase of our work that we were approached by Jossey-Bass about a publication.”

Each chapter identifies areas of opportunity in faculty development. According to the editors, it is their hope that “every reader will be able to glean details that might provide a spark or fan a flame on campus.”

“We are very proud of Dr. Tew’s contributions to this project,” said Dr. Bill Ellis, HPU president. “Dr. Tew leads the faculty of Howard Payne not only by his understanding of academic programs and teaching but also by his example as a scholar-teacher. His passion for academic thought and research is inspiring. This book is a reflection of the great work he’s done as provost at Howard Payne.”

The volume edition is Number 133, Spring 2013, and can be ordered at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tl.v2013.133/issuetoc.

BROWNWOOD – March 25, 2013 – Howard Payne University will host a free Traffick911 training session on the prevention of domestic minor sex trafficking March 28 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will be held in the Bullion Suites of the Mabee University Center. The training is designed for CPS workers, teachers, school counselors, attorneys, family court personnel, social workers and others who come across at-risk children. Continuing Education Units are available.

Traffick911 is an agency which has trained hundreds of frontline responders at the local, state and national levels, focusing on the prevention of the crime, the rescue and restoration of the victims and the prosecution of the offenders. According to the Traffick911 website, human trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the world and the average life expectancy for a child forced into sexual slavery is just seven years.

“Unfortunately for our society, domestic minor sex trafficking is a most relevant topic,” said Dan Humeniuk, chair of HPU’s social work department and assistant professor of social work. “This type of training is essential for human service professionals who regularly encounter at-risk children and adolescents.”

For more information, or to register for the training session, contact Bob Contreras, family liaison for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, at (325) 641-6486 or bob.contreras@tjjd.texas.gov. Other information and resources are available at www.traffick911.com.

BROWNWOOD – March 7, 2013 – Howard Payne University recently hosted its second annual Perspectives Conference, an event which brings together youth ministry professionals to explore the many facets of their field of ministry. Among the participants were HPU undergraduate and graduate students as well as other youth ministers from around the state.

This year’s theme was “Penetrating the Cultures with the Gospel,” and covered ways to minister in a lost culture, a changing community culture, a changing youth culture and more.

Guest speakers included Dr. Mary Carpenter, former missionary and retired professor of cross-cultural ministries at HPU; Danny Dawdy, director and CEO of Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center in Spicewood; Elias Garcia, youth minister at First Baptist Church of Plainview; Dr. Allen Jackson, professor of youth ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and adjunct faculty member at HPU; Mike Satterfield, lecturer and staff evangelist at Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington; and Jane Wilson, youth ministry specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

“We are grateful for good attendance and especially for mutual encouragement and insight gained from sitting around the table with other youth ministers, discussing topics that are so vital to effective ministry,” said Dr. Gary Gramling, professor of Christian studies and director of the youth ministry graduate program. “Our hope is that this conference provided a context in which ‘iron sharpens iron’ as youth ministers learned from our speakers and engaged in dialogue with one another.”

The third annual Perspectives Conference is slated for the spring 2014 semester. For more information, contact HPU’s School of Christian Studies at (325) 649-8403.

###

Photo cutline: Chuck Gartman, adjunct faculty member in HPU’s School of Christian Studies, addresses youth ministers gathered for the second annual Perspectives Conference.